


My Hucklebery Friend

by ilovehowyouletmefall



Category: Toy Story (Movies)
Genre: F/M, Headcanon, Post-Canon, velveteen rabbit-ish stuff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-20
Updated: 2019-08-20
Packaged: 2020-09-19 05:11:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 3,231
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20325646
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ilovehowyouletmefall/pseuds/ilovehowyouletmefall
Summary: What becomes of lost toys as they chase that rainbow's end...





	1. The Old Gang

**Author's Note:**

> This is more a collection of head canons than anything else. If I keep thinking about Toy Story 4, I'll keep adding to it.

Woody, Bo and the gang roll through town about once a year. Usually, they can’t stay that long, but Woody and Bo like to check in on their friends before going on to their next adventure. Sometimes they see Bonnie playing with her toys in her yard, and they meet eyes across the street. Sometimes they just see them in Bonnie’s bedroom window at night, and no one even knows that they were there. One time, Slinky got left on the back porch, and he, Woody, and Bo spent all night catching up.

Often, Bonnie’s parents get mysterious post cards in the mail, with no message. They figure it’s a mistake, but since there’s no return address, they can’t send them back to the post office. The first time they got one, they were going to throw it out, but Bonnie really liked the picture, so they didn’t see the harm in letting her keep them. Bonnie puts the postcards up around the room. Her toys know who sent them.

Bonnie keeps making toys, that are increasingly sophisticated. She uses wire, dowling, yarn, felt. Into her teenage years, it becomes a hobby, and she has a shelf-full of personalities, with Forky at the centre. Her friends ask for her toys, and then she starts selling them online. Bonnie starts an Instagram and a YouTube channel, that turn out to be wildly popular. She doesn’t go to college, and doesn’t stop playing with her toys… the toys she makes, anyways. While she has happy memories of them, the manufactured toys of her childhood start to lose their charm. One summer morning, when the carnival is in town, she wakes up to find her closet door ajar, and her window open. She closes the closet door without noticing the two sets of tiny bootprints - one of space boots, one of cowboy boots - and one set of hoofprints, in the dust on the closet floor.


	2. The Lost Toys

Bunny and Ducky are the first to go. Which is for the best, as life on the road is hard on plush. 

Kids get lost at the carnival a lot. With the bright colours and lights to distract them, and the crush of people; parents look away for a second and the kid is gone. 

A round-faced child with wispy hair was hyperventilating in a corner. Bunny and Ducky didn’t mean to go to her, they just wandered into her line of sight, and had to freeze. She grabbed them, and held them close, and fell asleep until she was found. From that moment, Bunny and Ducky barely had another thought for the other lost toys.

Her mother didn’t want to let her keep the grimy toys, but the kid cried so violently when she tried to take them away that her mother gave in. Bunny and Ducky were thrown in the washing machine, sewn up, and placed on the kid’s bed. She couldn’t fall asleep without them. Even when she stopped playing with toys, they remained there, squished under her chin while she was studying, cried into when things went wrong, tossed in the air when times were good. Every night when she fell asleep, Bunny and Ducky would frantically whisper to each other about what had happened that day, and spun fantastic tales of what would happen next. 

When she noticed that the old carnival toys were getting threadbare, the glued-on felt behind Ducky’s eyes slipping from the plush, they were placed on a shelf for safe keeping. She smiles at them each morning when she wakes up, and pats them on the head each night. They’re never forgotten and never alone. 

* * *

One day, after they’ve left the carnival, the lost toys stop in a school yard. Duke freezes by the batters cage of the baseball diamond as kids spill onto the field. One is running, and crouches behind the cage as soon as he can. He hugs his knees and hums to himself.

His eyes land on Duke, and he picks him up. He revs the bike on the palm of his hand, and smiles at the whirring sound. He revs it again, and lets Duke’s bike ride for about ten inches before it topples over in the packed dirt. He laughs. 

A gang of boys comes by and demand to see what he’s playing with. He refuses. He runs, and is chased. He chucks Duke and his bike over the fence bounding the school and into a neighbour’s back yard. Duke can hear him yelling at the boys to leave him alone. 

The next day, Duke returns to the school yard. Woody and Bo help him find the boy, kicking up gravel by the entrance to the school, grudgingly staying close to where the teachers can see what’s happening. Duke manoeuvres himself close to the boy’s feet. When he’s found, the boy doesn’t play. He hides Duke under his jacket, and then in his desk. That is where Duke lives until the summer, smiling out from under his helmet, smiling back at the boy. 

* * *

Giggles is stolen from a hospital waiting room, by a girl whose expressionless face matches that of her father. When she’s brought home, the girl takes her to her room, opens a box, and lays out her toys in a row on the floor. She counts them, rearranges the parts that are articulated, presses the buttons that can be pressed, counts them again, and puts them away. She hesitates before putting Giggles in the box. 

Instead, she lies on her bed. She moves Giggles from one room of her pet patrol to the next, puts her in her car and drives her around in two circles, and then closes the case. Then she opens the case and does it again. 

When the girl falls asleep, Giggles meets the other toys. There are two kinds - those who belonged to the girl before her mother got sick, who wish they could stay on the bed with her through the night, who desperately ask Giggles how she thinks she’s doing. And those who came after, who were stolen, who aren’t necessarily resentful, just disappointed. 

Bo and Woody manage to come to girl’s window. Giggles tells them that she wants to stay, to see what happens, to make sure… to make sure of something. She can’t say what. But maybe Bo and Woody can look her up the next time they’re in town. 

* * *

Bo, Woody and the Combat Carls stay on the road. The Carls are too common to be a magical discovery that kids want to take home. Their natural habitat seems to be among sand boxes and jungle gyms. Finding one is enough to make a trip to the park memorable and special, but it’s not surprising enough to think that the Carls don’t belong to the playground itself. They are played with frequently and enthusiastically. 

Bo_ is_ a surprising find. She is worn enough that children don’t question finding her, apparently abandoned; but the way her clothes are modified, the way her arms are mended, makes parents notice. “No, honey, you can’t take her home. She belongs to someone, they’ll come looking for her.” 

With Woody, it’s the fact that he still has his hat that tips parents off. 

Bo tells Woody what to expect, that every child is different. She has been a wizard, a bandit, and a princess. She’s watched children’s eyes light up when they find her, she’s seen how their gaze flits across her as they decide who she is, and what she’ll be. There’s a thrill in that moment that Bo doesn’t think will ever be matched.

Woody has never experienced so many different ways of being played with, each child with their own conception of who he is. For the first time ever, he plays a villain, a sheep wrangler threatening the flock, until Bo subdues him in an epic battle. 

After a while, though, he notices certain patterns emerging. Most often, he’s surprised to find, he’s a dancing cowboy, as kids jiggle him around and laugh at his flailing limbs. He’s given broad, simple roles, still frequently the hero, but also a nemesis, and also a clown. He’s given names like Tex, and Gary, and Bo-Jangles. 

It’s the younger kids that like Woody the best, who smile when they notice his face, and want to take him climbing on monkey bars, toppling down slides, and flying off of swings. 

It’s kids who are a couple of years older who are drawn to Bo, who trace the fractures in her hair with their fingertips, and construct elaborate back stories for whoever they decide she is. 

What Woody and Bo share in common is the refrain of parents, “You can’t take that home, it belongs to someone.” 

To be fair, many children seem to realize that without their parents pointing it out. When they play with Woody and Bo together, the game often ends with a wedding. 


	3. Weddings

There’s one wedding that gets playtime started. Woody and Bo are innocently saying their vows, when an evil, tiny, witch bursts in to curse them and their twin babies, Bunny and Ducky. Afterwards, Duke, who got to be the hero, relives his finest moments, to the cheers and encouragement of the other toys. Woody and Bo just share a glance and blush. 

* * *

There’s one wedding that isn’t so much about the wedding itself, as it is about carefully constructing pews out of sand, lining the aisle with pebbles, and weaving clovers and dandelions together in elaborate garlands. The kids never do get around to the actual ceremony. When they’ve gone, Bo breaks out laughing at Woody, who has as many flowers as possible stuck in his boots, around his belt, and under his hat - although she’s no better off. He tugs off the grass bow tie around his neck, and, smirking, pulls a purple clover out of Bo’s headband, graciously bows and offers it to her. She laughs, tips his hat, and goes off to find her sheep. Woody tucks the flower in his holster and goes after her. 

* * *

There is one wedding, officiated by a child who creates very long, very specific vows for Bo and Woody. He sits under a play fort while his mother talks in an agitated voice on the phone nearby. At one point, Arctic Carl is involved as their child, and they start making promises to him as well. When the mother calls her son’s name and says it’s time to go, he shouts, “One sec!” He arranges Woody, Bo, and Arctic Carl together, takes out his own phone, and takes a picture of them. He smiles wistfully at the toys, and runs off. The toys stay in that park for a few days in case that kid comes back, but he doesn’t.

* * *

There’s one wedding that ends playtime. It’s in the midst of a community picnic, a massive scene in the playground where lost toys mingle with kid’s toys in elaborate stories, that one child after another builds off of. At one point, Woody was saving Bo from the monkey bars, but as he was reaching the top, he slipped and fell. As it turned out, Bo could fly, and she saved him. They fought a dragon together, and saved a kingdom from its clutches. In celebration, they got married, with torn up bits of grass as confetti, and all the toys dancing around them. As kids were called back to the barbeque for dinner - along with the toys that they owned - the mood among the lost toys was just as giddy celebratory. Aside from the regular gang, there were other toys that lived on the road, Barbies and action figures, and a segmented plastic snake; along with army men, rubber dinosaurs, and matchbox cars that had lived in that playground for years. Woody and Bo sneak away from the crowd, and climb to the top of the slide. 

They settle in to watch the picnic, and Woody takes Bo’s hand.

“I do, you know,” he says.

Bo looks at him curiously. 

“Everything we said in the game… and all the games like it… I do.” 

Bo’s eyes search his, and she smiles, and kisses him. “I do too.” 

They stay up there for the rest of the evening, watching the picnic, watching the fireworks, and then watching the stars.

* * *

The very first time they were married was by Molly and Andy. 

“Mom, where’s Woody?” Andy yelled from his room, searching frantically. 

“I don’t know, dear.”

Glancing up from his search, he looked across the hallway to Molly’s room. She was playing with Woody and Bo.

“Hey, give me my Woody back!”

“No, they’re getting married!” Molly clutched them close

“Play nicely with your sister, Andy,” his mother admonished from downstairs

He rolled his eyes, sighed, then smiled at Molly. 

“If you’re going to have a wedding, at least do it right.”

Andy brought his cardboard boxes from his room, spun them around to a blank side, and gave crayons to Molly. She drew garlands and stained glass and rainbows and, for some reason, robots. He also gave her some Play-Doh to make the rings.

Meanwhile, Andy brought over more and more toys from his room. He lined them up in rows, and had the toy soldiers stationed along the aisle for a 21-gun salute. 

When everything was ready, Andy stationed Woody in front of the congregation, and marched Bo down the aisle, with Buzz giving her away. He hummed the wedding march while Molly clapped in delight. Potato Head officiated, and Slinky was the ring bearer. 

“I now pronounce you husband and wife,” Andy said. 

“Make them kiss!” Molly exclaimed.

That was when the kids got called for dinner. 

“Good job, guys!” Woody told the toys as they sprang to life and milled about. 

Potato Head and Hamm exchanged a look. 

“What?”

“Eh, not the most exciting playtime, was it?” Hamm said. 

“Aw c’mon, I thought it was fun…” Woody shrugged and rubbed the back of his neck self-consciously. “Right, Buzz?”

Buzz sniffled. “It was… lovely. Um… excuse me.” He rushed away. 

Hamm and Potato Head rolled their eyes. 

Woody felt the familiar tug of a crook around his neck. 

“Bo! Um… hi!” He blushed. 

“Playtime’s not done yet, sheriff.”

“Huh?”

“You still have to kiss the bride.”

Woody smiled bashfully. “Yeah, I guess I do…”


	4. A thing that happens to you

Woody and Bo’s adventures are shaped by the fact that they live in the shadow of humans. Hitching rides through metropolises and gawking at the crush of people. Dancing in the rafters of small-town community centres. Hospital play rooms are a common destination, and eventually, they witness a human life end. And they watch one begin. 

They see every lost toy in their group off to a new home. It takes much longer for some than for others, but it happens at some point. And then they meet new lost toys, and become friends, and travel together, until they see them off to new homes as well. This goes on for generations. 

Woody was already experiencing tiredness when he was with Bonnie. Most of the time, sleep was a comfort, rather than a necessity - except when he was particularly exhausted. This remains the case for a long, long time. It’s only after many years, that he notices Bo needs to sleep every night, and he realizes that he needs to sleep as well. 

Usually, a toy’s world is very small. For most, it’s the size of a child’s room. For some, it’s a classroom, or a waiting room. For lost toys, it can be the size of a network of parks and back yards. There’s not much tying these worlds togethers. But over the years, stories manage to spread. Of certain lost toys, almost guardian angels, who help other toys find kids. It’s hard to tell how many toys were touched by them directly, and how many just heard the stories, but it must number in the thousands. 

One day, while running to catch a ride on a truck crossing state lines, Woody’s pace flags. Bo notices, with surprise. She extends her crook, and lifts Woody up to the bumper. There’s an unfamiliar pain in his chest - he’s out of breath. 

It’s not just among toys that stories spread. Collectors start hearing about a curse - don’t buy a Woody’s Round-Up Doll, or you’ll find that your investment, and other toys besides, will soon go missing. But the temptation is too strong for most collectors, and they jump at the chance when they find one, and carefully restore it. Without fail, the curse plays out, as toy collectors find empty display cases and ransacked repair kits.

Getting her hands on some proper glue is important for Bo Peep, as kids don’t always play gently. In one of the easier-to-deal-with cases, Bo is simply left covered in cotton candy. Woody, and her sheep, are very unhelpful, rolling around on the grass laughing at her. She rolls her eyes, and pulls a wad of candy off of her head. Without thinking, she licks her fingers - and is startled to find that she can taste the spun-sugar. 

Woody and Bo befriend a wide-eyed plastic doll, who had been sold in a blind-box and turned out to be a version that their child had already owned; and a finely-detailed figurine of a superhero that a well-meaning grandmother had gotten for her grandchild instead of a fully-articulated action figure, who had promptly been rejected. When Fancy and Peter find out that they can have a second life as lost toys, they embrace it whole-heartedly. They’re eager to try out every playground, and talk strategy non-stop. 

Bo and Woody encourage them and offer tips. They hang around the edge of the playground, and watch, and talk about the kids, speculate about their lives, chat about the latest fad toys and which old friends they’re reminded of. Somehow, Bo and Woody have found themselves slow to freeze up recently. After giving more than one child the fright of its life, they’ve decided to be spectators at play time. They’ve found that they don’t mind. 

One night, Bo and Woody curl up in a baby swing, where they’re rocked by the breeze while watching the stars. 

“What’s with you guys and sleep?” Fancy complains. 

“It’s nice, you should try it,” Woody answers. 

Bo winks at him. He smiles. They ignore the rest of the chatter from their friends.

They’re still in the swing the next morning when kids arrive at the playground. For the first time in a long time, they’re played with, swooping through the air and dancing along the monkey bars.

When the children leave, Fancy, Peter, and the sheep run over to where Woody and Bo have been left in the sand.

“That was awesome!” Peter exclaims, executing a perfect backflip. “See what you’ve been missing?”

But Bo and Woody don’t unfreeze. 

“Uh… guys?”

They lean against each other, unmoving. Woody’s hat is on the ground by his side. 

“Woody? Bo?”

Billy, Goat and Gruff, who have been watching with their heads cocked, turn to nudge Fancy and Peter away. 

The cowboy and the shepherdess dolls stay in that playground.

That morning, in town, two babies had been born, unexpectedly early, a boy and a girl. They didn’t know it yet, but they had a whole lifetime of adventure ahead of them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "What is REAL?" asked the Rabbit one day, when they were lying side by side near the nursery fender, before Nana came to tidy the room. "Does it mean having things that buzz inside you and a stick-out handle?" 
> 
> "Real isn't how you are made," said the Skin Horse. "It's a thing that happens to you. When a child loves you for a long, long time, not just to play with, but REALLY loves you, then you become Real." 
> 
> "Does it hurt?" asked the Rabbit. 
> 
> "Sometimes," said the Skin Horse, for he was always truthful. "When you are Real you don't mind being hurt." 
> 
> "Does it happen all at once, like being wound up," he asked, "or bit by bit?" 
> 
> "It doesn't happen all at once," said the Skin Horse. "You become. It takes a long time. That's why it doesn't happen often to people who break easily, or have sharp edges, or who have to be carefully kept. Generally, by the time you are Real, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop out and you get loose in the joints and very shabby. But these things don't matter at all, because once you are Real you can't be ugly, except to people who don't understand."


End file.
